The top team in the nation, which is averaging more than 50 points per game, has now outscored its two playoff opponents 121-19, and that’s with the starting offense out of the game by halftime.

It was 49-0 at halftime Friday night, and it was so ridiculous that a fan held up his cell phone and took a picture of the scoreboard.

“I want to prove to my wife that we’re really beating them 49-0,” he said.

With 10 minutes left in the second quarter, it was already 35-0, and about a minute later a senior linebacker named John McElfresh picked off a fumbled snap in midair and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, which gave the Hurricanes a 42-0 lead.

On Thanksgiving afternoon, one of the lasting images of the season occurred. It wasn’t some electrifying touchdown or a big sack for a loss, but it was still quite memorable.

It was about noon, and McElfresh was one of only two people remaining on the Manatee campus.

Earlier in the morning, the team practiced and then ate breakfast with their parents and coaches. It is a Thanksgiving tradition at Manatee.

But after everyone left to go home to their families, McElfresh and head coach Joe Kinnan sat side-by-side at a computer for an hour in the coach’s room and reviewed game film, with Kinnan patiently explaining gap responsibilities to McElfresh.

It was a scene that may not have happened at Manatee in years past. But this is not a normal year.

Manatee is ranked No. 1 in the country in most polls and is now three wins away from a second straight state title, as well as the area’s first mythical national championship in any sport.

And this has become such a special season that the feeling has crossed the boundaries of the football field and has grabbed hold of people in the unlikeliest of places.

Just ask Shonya Hines, a registered nurse at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton.

“I get the comment all the time, ‘I can’t believe the number one team in the nation is right in our own backyard,’” she said.

Last Friday, according to Hines, there was a patient scheduled to have surgery, but a test came back abnormal and surgery was canceled. She was thrilled.

“She was like, ‘I’ll see y’all at the game,’” Hines said.

Hines, whose son Marquel Hines is a star receiver for Manatee, works in pre-op and recovery at the hospital.

“That hospital is crazy with Manatee High School football fans,” she said. “I work in a recovery room, so I wake people up after surgery and sometimes they don’t always wake up nice, so you’ve got to put a breathing tube back down.

“Well, you’ve got to call a doctor to let them know what going on. Some of the doctors want to talk football before they talk about the patient. ‘Oh yeah, do you think we’re going to keep that number one spot? Do you think we’re going to win this week? What are the boys looking like?’”

Hines wears her Manatee shirt to work on Fridays and brings cardboard posters with Manatee photos for the patients to see.

“I do pre-op too, and when patients are going in for surgery, they’re nervous as all get out,” said Hines. “I had a lady from out of town who didn’t want to walk through the doors to even begin to have surgery and her husband was a huge football fan.

“So we started talking about football, and she said, ‘Do you know someone that plays on that team in town. I said, ‘Yeah, actually my son plays for Manatee. Her husband had coached football for many years up north and they wanted to see pictures of my son.

“She completely forgot about the fact she was going to have surgery. It was therapeutic conversation.”

Jeanne Parrish will be 94 years old on Dec. 2. A Manatee High graduate, she taught 37 years at the school. She estimates she has taught more than 7,000 kids, including Kinnan.

One of the school’s most beloved figures, she has watched two Manatee games on television this year from her apartment and follows them on her computer as well.

“I’m so proud of them I don’t know what to do,” she said. “To have my school number one in the United States, it makes you feel so proud to have been there.

“I get cold chills when I think about Manatee.”

Hines, the registered nurse, understands how the team has touched the people in the shadows.

“These boys do more for people than they will ever know,” she said.

Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is an award-winning sports reporter for the Herald Tribune.

Last modified: November 23, 2012
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